Previously unpublished J.D. Salinger stories leak online
How鈥檚 this for literary irony? The famously reclusive late author J.D. Salinger is attracting more media attention dead than alive after a trio of previously unpublished short stories were leaked online despite the attention-averse Salinger鈥檚 strict instructions forbidding publication of such works until decades after his death.
A PDF scan of a Salinger paperback entitled 鈥淭hree Stories鈥� was posted and sold on eBay UK in September, then, on Nov. 27, scanned and uploaded to other sites such as , Imgur, and MediaFire. The 41-page work included three short stories: 鈥淏irthday Boy,鈥� 鈥淧aula,鈥� and 鈥淭he Ocean Full of Bowling Balls,鈥� which is said to be a precursor to 鈥淐atcher in the Rye,鈥� Salinger鈥檚 most famous work about teenage angst.
The latter is thought to be an early version of 鈥淐atcher鈥� originally written for Harper鈥檚 Bazaar magazine and withdrawn before publication. The narrator of 鈥淭he Ocean Full of Bowling Balls鈥� is Kenneth Caulfield, the older brother of Holden Caulfield, the narrator of 鈥淐atcher in the Rye.鈥�
According to the Guardian, 鈥淭hree Stories鈥� was not to be published until January 2060, half a century after Salinger鈥檚 death in 2010.
The leak has had the literary world in a tizzy as these works were not previously available to the public. And, as many stories have pointed out, Salinger was extremely opposed to the fame and interest publication would attract. He refused to publish anything after his 鈥淐atcher鈥� success in 1965, saying he wrote only for himself, not for fame or celebrity. As such, he had issued orders for subsequent works not to be published until decades after his death, fueling conspiracy theories about his unpublished works and 鈥渁ssertions that his greatest masterpieces鈥� were yet to be discovered in a safe or room 鈥渇ull of unpublished treasure,鈥� as the suggested.
鈥淭he appearance of the stories would undoubtedly have enraged Salinger, who died at 91 in 2010 and worked very hard during his lifetime to prevent people from publishing anything he had written (or conceived) that he didn鈥檛 want published,鈥� 蝉补颈诲.听
鈥淪alinger was known to fiercely guard his writings and only allowed a relatively small number to be published before his death in 2010 at age 91,鈥� reported .
According to news reports, the leak seemed to have occurred when copies from original Salinger manuscripts held by Princeton University Library and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas were illegally copied 鈥� possibly in longhand.
It is Salinger鈥檚 very reclusiveness that has fueled strong speculation about his life and works. This summer a new biography and documentary about the author revealed five posthumous works scheduled to be published between 2015 and 2020, according to USA Today.
Oddly, however, despite the intense interest in his rare, unpublished work, Salinger鈥檚 鈥淭hree Stories鈥� sold for a song: 拢67.50, or about $107.
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
